Four Bombs and a Cook
by Balin Lord of Moria
Summary: The Manhunter takes out the monuments that serve as bases and factories for the Orbs, but not without a little sorrow for what they stood for before the invasion. Then he declares his vendetta against Phil Cook.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Manhunter: New York_. Sierra owns it, and the Murry brothers and sister, Dave, Barry, and Dee Dee did.

* * *

The nameless Manhunter flew high above the buildings of the Manhattan metropolis, ruined, dirtied, and scratched by the effects of the decline forced upon the city by the Orb Alliance. This was his chance to eradicate New York City of those pesky Orbs and their frightening killer robots, and free the city and it's citizens at last.

He never thought he would get an opportunity to be a hero in his life. It was certainly an interesting feeling. But he wasn't in it for the glory; he just wanted New York to thrive in safety and peace again. Of course, it meant destroying some landmarks that stood out as symbols of America, like the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty, which brought some sorrow to his heart, but the Orbs had perverted those symbols with their own anti-human technology and society. He didn't want any more humans to be turned into food for these vile aliens! He didn't want people to have to breathe that polluted, red air anymore, either.

His Orb spacecraft, round and black, did not take too long for him to figure out its controls. He had to be careful, though, because that creep Phil Cook was after him in his own spacecraft, and these little ships had no defense system. He also had only four bombs and there were four targets, meaning that he would have to get his aim on each target just right. Mentally preparing himself for the danger, he thought to himself, "This is for Harvey and Anna Osborne, Harry and Tim Jones, that other Underground member I didn't identify, the rest of the Underground, and all of New York! You will _not_ stop me, Phil!"

Soaring high in the air, he flew toward the Empire State Building first. After a few tries, because of his lack of experience with flying this vessel, he finally managed to more or less hover over the tall landmark. Bidding farewell to one of America's tallest buildings, he dropped the first bomb. The explosion shattered the entire building, shredding it into almost nothing. Only the base of the building still stood, and that only barely existed.

The Orb Alliance's computer mainframe was disabled.

He started to fly to Grand Central Station next, because he didn't want the Orbs to get into their fleet of ships and swarm around him, making his job nearly impossible. But on the way, he caught sight of Phil's ship, which was flying toward him at speed. Phil put his ship on a collision course with the Manhunter's own. Evidently, he was trying to ram the ship, possibly into a building, causing it to crash. The Manhunter wouldn't allow that, however, and swerved aside, evading Phil and getting closer to Grand Central Station.

Upon arrival, he aimed as best he could and dropped the second bomb. Grand Central exploded, and the entire fleet of Orb ships was wiped out with it. Now the Orbs couldn't fly anywhere anymore.

He had to hasten on, because Phil Cook was hot on his trail. Phil flew quite fast, so the Manhunter had to bypass Bellevue Hospital temporarily. He left Manhattan Island and flew out to the Statue of Liberty, from which the red gases that strengthened Orbs and weakened humans spewed out of the once-torch hand. Shedding a tear for America's greatest physical symbol, he let the third bomb drop. Needless to say, it shattered the statue from head to toe. The machinery inside that produced the gas was demolished with it.

Soon, the once-proud Statue of Liberty was little more than rubble on its island. But the red gas was no longer purifying the atmosphere, and in time, the regular oxygen and nitrogen would replace it again.

One more target to go.

On the way back to Bellevue Hospital, he was forced to outmaneuver Phil again, who knew how to fly these ships far better than the Manhunter did. Either good luck, the blessing of fate, or an act of God made him able to get away from Phil's ship just in time. He flew over Manhattan Island at top speed, and came upon Bellevue Hospital, the primary home of the Orbs in New York. All the Orbs flying outside the building swarmed inside, as if taking cover. _A very unwise decision_, thought the Manhunter with a slight smile. He sailed over Bellevue Hospital easily because it was so large, and dropped the fourth and last bomb.

It detonated more or less at the center of the hospital, and blew away everything inside it, killing all the Orbs, destroying all their robots, and consuming their perverse food supply and baby hatchlings.

The task was a success! All of the bases of the Orb Alliance had been destroyed, and with them almost all the Orbs, probably all of their killer robots, and all of their technology that sustained their alien society. The ex-Manhunter felt like he had accomplished the impossible, and having come out of it alive, he hoped he could celebrate.

* * *

As the red gas started to dissipate, countless people came out from their hiding places throughout the city and cheered. Finally, they were free to live their lives like normal human beings lived them before the invasion. Over the next week or so, the few remaining Orbs and Orb robots in New York were quickly overwhelmed by humans who were angry for being oppressed by them for so long. It would take a much longer time to clean up the mess in the city, and to repair all the damage, but it would be worth it in the end.

Upon fulfilling his self-proclaimed mission, the Manhunter decided to join the celebration. He landed his ship just outside the remains of Grand Central Station and got out. Then he leaped up and down with ecstasy, letting out a cheer of his own after two years of being forbidden to speak. A large group of the celebrating people came over to him and lifted him up, dancing and shouting gratitude to their hero. He felt genuinely good for the first time in a long time.

But he had forgotten about Phil. Suddenly, Phil's ship descended upon them, and a laser blast zapped the people carrying the Manhunter into oblivion. The Manhunter, who had somehow survived the blast, was quite pissed. Vowing to get rid of this monstrous murderer, he got back in his ship and took pursuit.

* * *

Phil Cook had glared when the Manhunter defeated the Orbs, but now he smiled wickedly as he started to fly away from New York City. The Manhunter pursued him close behind. Behind them, blue sky started to show from behind the formerly red sky and shone down on the gleaming skyline of metropolitan New York, as it's newly freed citizens prepared for a whole new day of life and love.


End file.
